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With the exhibitions Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933–1950and The Noir Effectin full swing, noir is in the air here at the Skirball. Inspired by the seductive femme fatales of film noir, I’ve selected ten alluring items from our Light & Noir Holiday Pop-Up Shop that are perfect for the mysterious woman on your gift list. There’s no need to go on a manhunt for a creative Hanukkah present or saucy stocking-stuffer this year. Skip the bedlam at the mall and slip into the boudoir at the pop-up shop for some of these sassy and clever gifts.

The Perfect Red LipstickAs the chaotic holidays approach, I heed this advice from Elizabeth Taylor: “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” Red lipstick (and perhaps a little gin!) really is the perfect pick-me-up. During WWII, cosmetics entrepreneur Elizabeth Arden encouraged women to wear red lips as a symbol of victory. (The beauty company even released a line of cosmetics for the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, which included the shade “Victory Red” to coordinate with their uniforms.) Personally, I look to locally-based Bésame Cosmetics for long-lasting, classically glamorous shades of red. One of my personal favorites is Red Velvet. Every Bésame product is re-created from popular vintage formulas and lovingly packaged in a retro style. Learn for yourself how to apply that perfect femme fatale look on Sunday, December 7, when Bésame Cosmetics founder Gabriela Hernandez gives a makeup talk and demo in conjunction with the exhibition Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrésin Hollywood, 1933–1950.

An Alluring PerfumePerfumer Margot Elena created this irresistible “Femme Fatale” collection of fragrances, part of her TokyoMilk/DARK line. Each fragrance is stunningly packaged in matte-black bottles featuring charming lithograph illustrations for each scent. My favorite is “Everything & Nothing” No. 10, with its light hint of citrus. I’m also a fan of the coordinating hand creams.

Compact MirrorA slim, stylish compact mirror is a must for every glamour girl to ensure her makeup is always in place. I myself designed the pattern featured on this cute compact from LucyLu as a nod to the iconic film noir motif of striped shadows. The compact is accompanied by a protective silver leatherette pouch with a magnetic closure, which helps keep the outside of the mirror shiny and scratch-free. Continue reading →

The Skirball is delighted to present this holiday pop-up shop, now open through January 4, inspired by the new exhibition Light & Noir. On opening night, these eager first shoppers discovered the array of merchandise, from wearables to home décor, books to kid-friendly novelties. Photo by Steve Cohn.

In January, when I began reading about our upcoming exhibition Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933–1950, I was instantly inspired. Due to my personal interest in fashion and design, I was very aware of the influence film noir has had in these areas. I was eager to explore the possibility of a holiday pop-up shop to complement the exhibition. It was the beginning of an exciting journey.

We had many questions. Where would I find vintage items from the period? How much vintage vs. reproduction should make up the product mix? With a very limited budget, how would we create an evocative environment? Many existing relationships needed to be engaged, and new ones pursued and cultivated.

GlamAmor Shares Noir Essentials—Early during the research stage, I came across a six-part webinar series on The Style Essentials: History of Fashion in Film, by Kimberly Truhler, Woodbury College professor, author, film and costume design expert, and creator of GlamAmor. Each webinar covers one decade, and I signed up for the session on the 1940s. After viewing Kimberly’s informative and enjoyable presentation, I contacted her and was pleased to learn that she is passionate about film noir! Even better, she was willing to give us informed suggestions for our project.

I’ve always been a reader. Some of my life’s crazy historical obsessions started with a children’s one-volume encyclopedia I received as a gift when I was ten, and today I probably own 2,000 books. To me books are the best possible means for “walking in someone else’s shoes.” As book buyer for Audrey’s Museum Store, I’m glad to see some of our visitors go home with books like The Snowy Day, pictured above (with me peeping out from behind!).

Summer’s here, which means families with kids across the southland are in summer break mode (even if yours aren’t quite school-age yet). Let your kids travel to new worlds and meet new people between the covers of some first-rate children’s literature! One of the best ways to put together a top-notch book list for the littlest ones in your family is, of course, to ask for recommendations from a librarian. Even better, get recommendations from a whole bunch of librarians by checking out the work of current and past winners of the Caldecott Medal.

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the most distinguished illustrated children’s book published that year. The exhibition The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats—on view at the Skirball through September 7—afforded us the wonderful opportunity to highlight one of the recipients of this special award (The Snowy Day received the medal in 1963).

Here are a few Caldecott honorees we chose to feature in Audrey’s Museum Store along with all of Keats’s in-print books:

Team Audrey’s in action! Prior to the window installation, Audrey’s staff met for two workshops to build the display elements, including falling cotton ball strands of snow, cut paper snowflakes, and foamboard buildings. Here store director Pam Balton and I consider the layout of windows for the Keats-inspired cityscapes.

Audrey’s staff member Michelle Bourdon works on trimming the needle at the top of the foamboard Empire State Building—no easy feat!

Michelle plays with an initial layout before we actually install all the pieces into the store window. Audrey’s staff cut out each and every snowflake—a job that required lots of scissors and X-acto knives!

We used both colored paper and printed fabrics to mirror Keats’s use of collage and amate paper in his art. As a special touch, we added in Amy and Roberto (with his white mouse puppet) from Keats’s book Dreams (a detail of the original is pictured here in the above right image; copyright Ezra Jack Keats Foundation). We also included Peter (from The Snowy Day) stomping his footprints into the snow.

I am armed and ready with great recommendations for your holiday reading list!

A copy of the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution in progress. A continental soldier’s uniform. An eighteenth-century tea box. Buttons from Lincoln’s campaign.

These items may sound boring to some, but when I heard they were going to be here at the Skirball, on view in the exhibition Creating the United States, I jumped for joy. I love history! I spent five years in graduate school, while working full time, to complete my degree in history. I am an American generalist, a California specialist, a women’s movement enthusiast, a Cold War culture buff, and an archivist. I view history not as a chore, a list of dates and names, but as the story of people. Technologies develop, ideologies ebb and flow, personalities change, but human needs and passions are universal. Knowing about these people and their struggles and successes is a great way to learn about yourself and the world around you. Thousands of voices from the centuries make up a chorus of stories waiting to be heard, and many historians are giving those voices value in the endless array of books available to the general public.

Choosing the exhibition-related books to sell at Audrey’s Museum Store is typically a job for our Operations Manager, Susan, but I was delighted to help her review titles as we prepared for Creating the United States and the companion “Democracy Matters” exhibitions, Decades of Dissent, Free to be U.S., and Lincoln Spotlight. Selecting books relies on the old adage of judging a book by its cover. Is it interesting enough to catch someone’s attention? Is it too scholarly for a casual reader? Is it a good price? Over the course of three months, we reviewed hundreds of books to compile our final book list of more than 100 titles for adults and children. Each book somehow relates thematically with the exhibitions specifically or broadly reflects the Skirball mission. To make this bibliography a little less daunting, here are six choices to get you in the spirit of Creating the United States.

1) If the early republic and the Founding Fathers seem out of touch, hopefully a good book in conjunction with a visit to the exhibition will help. Founding Foodies by Dave DeWitt ($16.99) makes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin more approachable. DeWitt presents the agrarian practices of these gentlemen, something in which they had great pride. I especially like the brewing recipes from Mount Vernon and Monticello because my husband is a master brewer. Written in short sections with wit and insight, this is a great book for an epicurean. Continue reading →

It’s wedding season! One of my personal joys at Audrey’s Museum Store is meeting and guiding engaged couples through the process of selecting the perfect ketubbah. A ketubbah is a Jewish wedding contract and often a decorative document that hangs proudly in the home for years to come as a symbol of mutual love, commitment, and partnership. A ketubbah may be the first contract a couple signs together and the first piece of art purchased together.

With the multitude of options for text, personalization, and artist techniques (among them lithography, hand-painting, giclee printing, and papercut), selecting a ketubbah can be a confusing decision. As ketubbah specialist, my goal is to simplify the process, to give personal attention and historical context, and to make this experience memorable and meaningful.

The Vorspans posing with their beautiful and freshly inked kettubah!

What’s especially gratifying are the continuing relationships with couples I’ve worked with over the years. In 2007, Elana Taylor and Ben Vorspan came to Audrey’s to choose their ketubbah. After much deliberation and contemplation—Audrey’s carries hundreds of ketubbah designs created by dozens of artists from all over the world, from L.A. to New York to Israel—they chose “Beside Still Waters” by Amy Fagin. What they liked about it—and what I find so appealing about Amy’s designs—are her intricate patterns and vibrant colors.

A little storytelling and impromptu drumming with Noah’s Ark fans Griffin and Zoe.

I have the best job. Ever. My job title is something like Retail Sales Associate at Audrey’s Museum Store, which means I sell toys and books to people visiting Noah’s Ark at the Skirball. But really I like to call myself the Toddler Whisperer because I spend my days interacting with very young children. My measure of a good day isn’t how many sales I’ve had, but rather, how many of my “regulars” have come to visit. I have a whole pocketful of friends:

Jasper, my animal expert, knows everything there is to know about the wild kingdom. At four years old, he can identify a Xenops or a vole as readily as a pig and a cow (the latter two being alike because, as Jasper informed me recently, “they are both farm animals”). On one of his visits, he brought his most special animal book to share with me. I was expecting a small board book or a thin paperback. Out of his backpack came a heavy animal encyclopedia that must have taken quite a bit of effort for him to lug around. I was so happy that he wanted to share it with me. Together we sat and looked through it.

You can always tell when Aidan and his younger brother Connor are approaching the store. You hear the calls of “Shaaarrrooonnn! It’s my friend!” as Aidan enters the store and gives me a hug. Aidan likes to sit at our little “touch table,” where kids can feel free to play with select store goodies, and try out the toys. He often comes up with creative names for them. Continue reading →

Raven + Lily co-founders Sophia Lin and Kirsten Dickerson discuss why they felt compelled to work with
women in impoverished communities and how consumers themselves are empowered by purchases that benefit communities in need. Sophia will be previewing Raven + Lily’s spring 2012 collection at a trunk show hosted by Audrey’s Museum Store on April 20–22.

Just north of the capital of Ethiopia is a mountain region known as the Entoto Mountains, a place where villagers believe lies a cure for HIV. Ostracized by their families and communities, many HIV-positive Ethiopian women leave behind their hometowns to come to the Entoto Mountains in the hope that they will be made healthy again. Many of them, unfortunately, end up with no way to support themselves once they arrive at this new place.

But there is some hope for these women thanks to socially responsible jewelry and gift brand Raven + Lily and the Entoto Project. This initiative provides HIV education and healthcare to Ethiopian women while also offering sustainable employment. The women of the Entoto Project create beautiful jewelry, like this necklace (pictured at right), using beads made out of vintage coins and artillery shells from past tribal conflicts. As they say at Raven + Lily, “what was once intended for harm now brings hope and life.”

It is stories like these that made the Women Hold Up Half the SkyHoliday Pop-Up Shop—which was open to visitors during gift-giving season—such a meaningful endeavor. For me, what is moving about goods that do good is their potential to empower both the artisan and the customer. The artisans are able to improve conditions for themselves and their families, fulfilling basic needs and building a better future for the entire community; the customers (or “smart buyers,” as Katy Leakey of our Beads for Learning vendor, The Leakey Collection, calls them) are able to make more socially conscious purchases that can make a difference in the lives of others.

Making a difference was the inspiration for the Skirball’s decision to mount the exhibition—and, by extension, to organize a related Holiday Pop-Up Shop. As it turned out, many thousands of visitors were happy to “shop for the cause” and help champion opportunities for women to make a sustainable living. To keep the momentum going, Audrey’s Museum Store at the Skirball will continue to carry, well into the future, beautifully handcrafted merchandise from women’s cooperatives and fair-trade organizations around the world. I couldn’t be more proud! Continue reading →

It’s gift-giving season, and the Skirball’s special Women Hold Up Half the Sky Holiday Pop-Up Shop is buzzing with activity. (You may have heard about it in the feature story “Handcrafted with Humanity” that appeared in the Home section of last Saturday’s Los Angeles Times.) Setting up a pop-up shop was something we’d never attempted before, and it’s been an enriching experience to learn about the hundreds of artisan groups and distributors that champion entrepreneurship for women worldwide.

Entryway to the 2011 Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

The first person I turned to for advice was an experienced colleague at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. She referred me to Ahdina Zunkel, the director of special projects at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market (now in its eleventh year), where more than 120 artisans from around the world—all carefully vetted to ensure they produce authentic craft—come to sell and display their handcrafts each year.

The market was absolutely amazing. The sheer number of artists represented and the quality of their work were a treat. Language was often a barrier, but I was able to learn some of the women’s inspiring stories firsthand. Continue reading →